The Dialectic of Ideology and Technology: Gouldner's Critique of Marxist Objectivism
This blog post will constitute one of two connected by the philosophy and personal interpretation of Alvin Gouldner. I will give a brief overview of the first book contained in the Dark Side of The dialectic series called The Dialectic of Ideology and Technology. I will then elaborate on what I see as compelling about the book, but ultimately will argue in the second essay that I think his conclusion is tenable as applied to Marxism - specifically in relation to a truncated objectivism. Alvin Gouldner's The Dialectic of Ideology and Technology represents one of the most significant sociological critiques of Marxism from within the broader tradition of critical theory. Rather than simply rejecting Marxism's analysis of ideology, Gouldner argues that Marxism must apply its own method of historical critique reflexively to itself. Reading Gouldner's discussion of the dialectic of ideology and technology, it seems to me that he is attempting to expose a fundamental limitation w...
